***
It had already been a month since I became an official physician trainee and started attending classes.
In the meantime, the way the physician trainees at the medical academy looked at me had changed quite a bit.
“Lady Ryeonghwa, could you take a look at this?”
“About the method you taught us last time…”
At first, the physician trainees had worried about the sickly young child. Now, whenever they encountered something they didn’t know, they came looking for me first.
The problem was that I had revealed too much of my ability.
Only after I carelessly let some of the knowledge I had learned through experience in my previous life slip out several times did I belatedly realize how dangerous it was.
‘…I went too far.’
In this life, I was only seven years old.
If I continued to know things that weren’t even written in the books, there would inevitably come a time when someone would question where that knowledge had come from.
In fact, Yeon Hwi-cheon had been looking at me rather suspiciously lately.
‘I need to be more careful from now on.’
Rather than immediately answering whenever I knew something, I decided to mix what I already knew with what I had learned in this life and present it appropriately.
Unless it was absolutely necessary, there was no reason for me to get too far ahead of everyone else.
‘Stand out only as much as necessary.’
Once I drew that line for myself, I actually felt a little more at ease.
Still, life at the medical academy was quite enjoyable.
Except for the fact that Yeon Hwi-cheon occasionally watched me closely.
In front of everyone else, he was still the kind and gentle older brother, but whenever our eyes met, I could somehow feel him examining me.
‘Why are you looking at me like that?’
It bothered me, but I didn’t let it show.
After all, I was also keeping an eye on him to find out what had happened during the Ip-gwan Examination.
And today.
The class I had been waiting for had finally arrived.
‘Acupuncture!’
Today was the first day I would learn acupuncture.
I had used acupuncture needles in my previous life as well, but this was the first time I would formally take an acupuncture class as a physician trainee.
I stopped walking and looked down at the needle case at my waist.
The needle case my grandfather had used since he was young.
And the silver needles neatly arranged inside.
‘I’m finally going to use this.’
Ever since my grandfather had given me the needle case at the entrance ceremony, I had secretly been looking forward to this day.
Without realizing it, I stroked the needle case once.
What kind of class would it be?
Would they have us identify acupoints from the beginning, or would they start by checking how we held the needles?
The more I thought about it, the faster my steps became.
“Little lady, are you that excited?”
Ryujin, following behind me, asked with a laugh.
“Yes!”
I nodded enthusiastically without even trying to hide it.
“I’m going to use the needles Grandfather gave me for the first time today.”
For some reason, I wanted to do well.
Just thinking that the needles my grandfather had used for so many years would now be used in my hands to save people made my heart flutter for no reason.
I was on my way to the building where acupuncture was taught when—
Quick footsteps came from behind.
At first, I thought it was simply someone passing by.
But the footsteps didn’t slow down.
“Little lady, wait…!”
The moment Ryujin hurriedly turned around—
Thud!
A powerful impact struck me from behind.
“Ah!”
My small body was helplessly thrown forward.
My palms and knees struck the rough ground, and at the same time, something fell from my waist.
Clatter.
‘My needle case!’
The rosewood needle case rolled across the ground and opened.
The slender silver needles scattered in every direction.
Forgetting the pain, I reached toward the nearest needle.
At that moment—
Crunch.
A large shoe blocked my hand.
Two or three silver needles were crushed directly into the dirt.
“Oh.”
A mocking voice came down from above my head.
“It was an accident.”
I slowly raised my head.
A man as large as a mountain was looking down at me.
Baek Cheon-ho.
He was the escort warrior who was always by Yeon Hwi-cheon’s side.
“I didn’t expect Little Lady to suddenly fall.”
Even as he said that, he didn’t move the foot standing on the needles.
‘He did it on purpose.’
Ryujin immediately stepped forward angrily.
“What are you doing?!”
“Ryujin.”
I hurriedly grabbed her.
There was no point causing a commotion first without evidence.
Instead, I looked Baek Cheon-ho straight in the eyes.
“If it really was an accident, please move your foot first.”
“My foot?”
“You’re stepping on my needles.”
The gazes of those around us turned toward his feet.
Baek Cheon-ho’s smile stiffened for a moment.
I added one more thing.
“My grandfather used those needles for a long time before giving them to me personally.”
Only then did Baek Cheon-ho slowly lift his foot.
The silver needles buried in the dirt were revealed.
Ryujin quickly rushed over and picked them up.
“Thank goodness, Little Lady. They’re not bent.”
I let out a sigh of relief.
Then Baek Cheon-ho chuckled.
“You use some very fine needles.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing in particular.”
Baek Cheon-ho glanced down leisurely at the dirt-covered silver needles.
“But no matter how good the needles are, they’re useless if the patient doesn’t trust the physician, aren’t they?”
My gaze hardened instantly.
“……”
“I heard you had quite a difficult time during the Ip-gwan Examination as well.”
‘Wait.’
How did he know about the patient refusing to let me treat him during the Ip-gwan Examination?
The events of that day flashed through my mind.
Then a familiar voice cut in.
“That’s enough.”
It was Yeon Hwi-cheon.
He walked toward us as though he had only just noticed the commotion.
“Ryeonghwa, are you all right?”
“……”
“Cheon-ho didn’t do it intentionally.”
His voice was gentle.
But I looked back and forth between Baek Cheon-ho and Yeon Hwi-cheon.
What had happened during the Ip-gwan Examination.
And what Baek Cheon-ho had just said.
‘Could it be…’
My suspicion deepened.
“Even so, I want an apology.”
Yeon Hwi-cheon’s eyebrow twitched slightly.
“Your escort warrior pushed me, and he even stepped on the needles Grandfather gave me.”
The physician trainees gathered around us turned their gazes toward Yeon Hwi-cheon.
But he quickly regained his gentle expression.
“Ryeonghwa. Didn’t Cheon-ho say it was an accident?”
“Then that makes it even simpler.”
I held the needle case against my chest.
“The person who made a mistake just needs to apologize.”
A brief silence followed.
And then—
“Exactly.”
An unfamiliar voice rang out from the end of the corridor.
“Is it really that difficult to apologize after trampling someone else’s belongings?”
Everyone turned their heads at once.
At the end of the corridor, bathed in the morning sunlight, stood a familiar-looking boy.
“……!”
I widened my eyes in surprise.
‘It’s that boy I met at the market!’
I hadn’t been able to get a proper look at him then because everything had happened so suddenly, but seeing him again, he was quite an eye-catching boy.
He had distinct features and was dressed in black. A plain sword with no decorations hung at his waist.
More than anything, the sharp air about him, completely unlike that of an ordinary child, was striking.
Several attendants were following behind him.
‘Did he come to Yakryeong because of the poison from back then?’
“No…”
Yeon Hwi-cheon asked with an unpleasant expression at the boy’s sudden appearance.
“Who are you?”
Even though he had clearly been there with us at the market, Yeon Hwi-cheon seemed not to recognize the boy.
Well, he hadn’t even paid attention to the collapsed patient back then, so it wasn’t strange that he didn’t remember his face.
The boy looked at Yeon Hwi-cheon.
“Does who I am matter right now?”
“You dared to interfere in our family’s affairs, so you should at least reveal your identity.”
“Family affairs…”
The boy glanced once at the silver needles scattered on the ground and my clothes covered in dirt.
“From where I’m standing, it looks like one side was simply victimized.”
Yeon Hwi-cheon’s eyes narrowed slightly.
The boy continued speaking with an unconcerned expression.
“If it was an accident, wouldn’t apologizing be the end of it?”
“……”
“I don’t know why that should be so difficult.”
Silence descended for a moment.
The smile that had been hanging on Yeon Hwi-cheon’s lips slowly disappeared.
As though he had realized that everyone’s attention was fixed on him, he desperately maintained a calm expression.
But he couldn’t hide the fist clenched beneath his sleeve.
Blue veins stood out sharply across the back of his hand.
Comments (0)